Decision Point 4: Divide Regiment & Send Benteen Scouting

[Deleted]

DECISION POINT 4

Well, DP has a fair amount of answers.  Here is the next one:

DP	Who	Timeline	Location	Local Time	Clock Time	Event
4	Custer	F	Just past the Divide DD: -107.156 45.453 MGRS: 12TCL31443558	1103	1200	Custer and Cook go off to the side, break the regiment into battalions, and informs Benteen to move off to the left.

***Course of Action 1***	Course of Action 2
Divide Regiment and dispatch Benteen to the South	Divide Regiment and continue
Advantages	Advantages
Lessons span of control and increases flexibiity
Clears my left flank	Keeps my combat power concentrated
Row 6 column 1	See no signs of trails to the South of the main trail in either direction
Row 7 column 1	Row 7 column 2
Disadvantages	Disadvantages
Decreases my available combat power	Do not clear my left flank.
Depending on how far out he goes, we will not be mutually supporting. He won't be able to quickly reinforce me and I will not be able to support him.	Row 10 column 2
Have not seen any sign of the trail diverging or other bands joining from the east or south.	Row 11 column 2
Row 12 column 1	Row 12 column 2

Comparison of COA

This is all about massing my combat power or protecting my flank.

When Terry wanted to clear my left (East) flank while moving South he wanted me to be able to detect approaching enemy.  Now that I have observed the vallery along Davis Creek toward the LBH, I see no signs of additional trails to the South or North.
Once he is out of sight, we are out of supporting distance.

I still do not know the strength or precise location of the enemy.
I am still worried I've been detected and don't want to lose surprise


Recommendation

Divide the regiment into two wings, Reno the Right with 6 CO, Benteen on the left on the left with 5. I will ride with Reno
.  I will put Keogh out in front behind the Scouts.

Discussion.  There is a choice of splitting the Regiment into two or more wings.  There are good reasons for both COA, but in my view, the risk of enemy coming up fro the South is low.  Better to concentrate combat power.  Custer previously operated with two wings so the concept is not new to anyone.  By putting Keogh out behind the Scouts he can give them a place to fall back to if they are confronted with a large force and Keogh then can maneuver to attempt to fix the enemy.  Scouts won't have as far to go because they can report to Keogh and then Keogh can send reports to me.  Were I Custer, I would ride near Reno but perhaps a little forward of the main body so as to get reports from Keogh and the Scouts faster.  The command will move in wedge, with both flanks removed; this allows me to clear both flanks to a certain extent and the wedge can compress and grow as needed based on the terrain.  Spreading out reduces my dust signature.  The packs are already protected by the rear guard and the number of troopers I have detached the train.  Attached you can see how I would deploy the Regiment.  (Not to any scale)  I'd want gaps between the companies, but probably no larger than the size of a skirmish line.  Column of 4s to keep things tight.

[quincannon]

This is the black letter application of tactics and technique. A no brainer. Course of action 2. Regiment in inverted V (wedge). Battalions (wings) in echelon left and right. Scouts out. Advance guard in place. 

My only fault with your lay out Mike is that you still have all the trains and the escort company following. You have between 18 and 20 percent of your combat power, ball and chained by those goddamned trains. Form company trains (one or two mules each) relieve all those men detailed to drive those mules, Ian an tell you how many, and send them back to the line companies. Get Company B back in the line where it belongs making two six company battalions, and stash the rest of those mules and supplies back along the trail with a few minders. If the Indians get at them, that is a risk I would be more than willing to take. When did you ever read in a Field Manual, a chapter headed support platoon in the attack? Brink them up after the dance is over, when you ready yourself to pursue.

[Deleted]

quincannon

I mostly agree.  Since the Regiment is learning as they go, I don't think puting mules with the companies would work out so well.  Had some trained and thought about it (Reno as acting commander who might have also done some marksmanship training) it would work.  Certainly reduce the amount of people minding the mules.  On long moves, as BDE S-4, were usually next to last in the column with a battalion behind me or in the center of a box or wedge.  I liked to keep mine close up, but that's just me.  I jumped a lot too when the battalions were doing there thing.

Now then, No shit, there I was, as a Troop XO bringing my CP/Trains forward (I combined them for various reasons, again liked to be close) catching up with the Troop, when low and behold to my right flank I found an M60A2 BNTF.  I got up on the command push and reported, deployed, and partly because I thought it was funny and partly because I thought I needed to try and fix those guys, I attacked with my 2 radar M113s, M578, M88, and my 2.5 Ton and had my mortars smacking the ground with HE and smoke as I moved forward.  I got destroyed, but the battalion got so fixated, the squadron tank company smacked the crap out of them from the rear.  I figured I'd be dead anyway in a real encounter so may as well do something useful.

Edit:  A good case could be made to keep a company toward the center rear, in front of the trains, as a reserve.  I guess I would put Weir or maybe Yates in that spot as the most experienced commanders.

[yanmacca]

Think it was either six pvts and a NCO or five pvts and a NCO, but I do recall each company having six mules for company baggage.

I like three battalions of four, that would give each battlion commander the option of three up and a reserve company.

The three battalion commanders would probably be Custer, Reno and Benteen as I cant see GAC staying out of the advance in a regt HQ.

Each battalion could traval in a diamond formation with a lead company and two wing companies with the BHQ and the reserve behind.

I agree that the packs should be left behind and only ammo mules brought forward, as this is not expected to be a long drawn out battle and thought around a day should do it, then the packs could be brought forward.

[quincannon]

Ian: I like four company battalions as well, and they would fit just as well into what Mike presented. The alteration would be Regiment in wedge, battalions in diamond. the only difference is that yours is a little more of a compact formation than Mike's. When Mike visits he really must take a good long look at that valley and decide which one is better, your's or his. He is going from a map.. You are too. My gut says your's will fit better, but it has been fifteen years since I motored up that valley.

[Deleted]

I admit I have a hard time visualizing the space a company takes up in this era. I should develop a template. I typically moved in wedge as a tank company commander, with my mech platoon in the front and tank platoons in the rear. The wedge constantly compressed to column and the platoon wedges constantly compressed to column as well.

Part of the reason I went with two battalions is I wanted Custer (and I would prefer) to pay attention to the Regimental picture versus a battalion picture. On those occasions in training when I became the battalion commander (I was the senior captain in two different battalions), the first thing I did was put my XO or senior platoon leader in command of the company, then take over the Commander's call sign and move someplace else.

Three battalions of four makes sense. I still, at this point, like having a rear guard near the trains, but more forward perhaps so as to constitute a reserve.

[yanmacca]

I think that the diamond battalions, would each be hitting different terrain, if we place the three battalions onto the area in question and then add what actually took place with Custer and Reno, we can see that the ground Custer moved across was a lot different to Reno's and if we then add another battalion in the shape of Benteen, he may have been on Reno's left thus on the bench land.

The valley and bench look wide open but Custer had a more difficult terrain to move across, maybe his diamond would struggle to keep together once they got past SSR.

Mike, I would have the packs and its 70 plus trooper guard well on the back trail and closed in for defence. The ammo and medical stuff is what they need up front and all the extra mounted troopers they could muster.
We do find quite a few men like cooks and orderlies hunkered down in the train, these would bolster the train along with some civilian packers.

[Beth]

This is one of those choices where knowing what should have been done military wise and what was done make the choice difficult. I am not a military person but I understand what should have been done at this point.

[quincannon]

Same darn thing you do every day of your life Beth. You parcel out time, resources, and the personal efforts of your family members by the best means you know how to get the family's mission for that day accomplished.

[yanmacca]

Here is the regiment in four battalions of three, I wonder who would get what in if we have three battalions of four, would Custer have C, F, I and E?